1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for managing and allocating shelf space among rows of products. More particularly, the present invention is directed to integrated shelf allocation management systems with single and/or dual adjustability to accommodate varying shelf depths and varying product sizes easily.
2. Description of the Background
In retail stores, such as grocery stores, products are displayed on shelves for customers to inspect and select. In order to attract customers to a particular product and/or to facilitate a convenient shopping experience, these products must be organized in an orderly fashion on the store shelves. Moreover, because wasted shelf space wastes money, the products should efficiently use shelf space, even where disparate size shelves are utilized.
For orderly customer presentation, products may be divided into rows with dividers between rows so that each product row remains confined to a designated area and does not shift or cross over into another row. Further, these dividers may be adjustable in length so that they may accommodate varying shelf depths.
Additionally, vendors prefer to move the products to the front of the shelf so that the customer may easily view the products or reach them for purchase. If the products are hidden at the back of the shelf, the customer may not see or be able to reach them resulting in loss of potential sales. Display of the products in a disorderly fashion may also result in loss of sales.
Traditional shelving systems address one or more of these issues. One class of existing systems involves complex machinery which advances products to the front of the shelf using some type of biasing mechanism. Machines are limited to a specific shelf depth and are not easily adjusted to accommodate all shelving depths. Ultimately, these systems fail to maximize the use of store shelf space.
Other traditional systems involve less complex machinery, such as dividers that are separately attached to either the shelf itself or to locating strips that run lengthwise along the front of the shelf. Due to the separated nature of the dividers, these systems lack the structural stability of an integrated unit in which both side walls are joined by a base piece that runs therebetween. As a result, the dividers may fail to provide a rigid enough barrier to confine products to one particular row. Further, the permanent or semi-permanent nature of the attachment of the dividers to the shelf makes it difficult to reposition the dividers in these systems to accommodate varying product shapes and sizes. To accomplish such task, each divider is manually removed from either the shelf itself or a locating strip, repositioned, and reattached at a new position on the shelf or locating strip. That step can be both time consuming and inconvenient.
There has been a long standing need in the commercial vendor community for systems that allow for single and/or dual adjustability (width-wise and depth-wise) within an integrated unit to accommodate varying shelf depths and varying product sizes. Such a product would preferably maintain sufficient rigidity to align rows of products appropriately, while preferably displaying product toward the front of the shelf.